Members of Congress gathered at the start of the week to unveil the Let Pregnancy Centers Serve Act, a bill that strengthens protections for life-affirming resource centers. These centers provide necessary, and often lifesaving, care to families in need but have been victim to regulatory attacks by hostile governments.
In 2022 alone, pregnancy care centers (PRC) served 808,737 clients and provided over $367 million in free resources to their local communities. When families are unprepared for pregnancy, PRCs step in to provide the help and support they need to confidently usher their new baby into the world. Despite their public good, states and the federal government have historically weaponized bureaucratic overreach and apathetic justice systems to funnel women to abortion-focused centers.
That is why Pro-Life Caucus Chair Congressman Chris Smith (R-New Jersey 4th) introduced the Let Pregnancy Center Serve Act alongside Congresswoman Claudia Tenny (R-New York 24th) and Congressman Robert Aderholt (R-Alabama 4th). The Act amends the Public Health Service Act to explicitly prohibit discrimination against clinics that do not perform abortion and strengthens current protections afforded in federal conscious laws.
Congressman Smith noted several attacks on New Jersey’s pregnancy care centers, particularly from radical state level officials. In 2022, New Jersey Attorney General (AG) Matthew Platkin subpoenaed 10 years of documents from First Choice Women’s Resource Center without a legitimate complaint to justify the demand. The AG inundated the clinic’s staff with red tape and regulations, inhibiting them from faithfully serving New Jerseyan women at their maximum capacity.
Unfortunately, these bureaucratic attacks are all too common for those providing life-affirming care to expecting families. When introducing his bill, Congressman Smith noted, “State governments like New Jersey pander to abortion activists by targeting pregnancy care centers in a coordinated effort to intimidate the front-line volunteers and licensed medical professionals providing this critical support to mothers in need and their unborn baby boys and girls.”
In 2020, a similar regulatory attack made its way all the way to the Highest Court. In the SCOTUS case NIFLA v. Becerra, California forced life affirming clinics to provide abortion-related information to its clients; for example, informing them of the closest abortion provider. The court ruled this violated the clinic’s First Amendment rights, but similar attacks clearly have not stopped.
That’s exactly why we need the Let Pregnancy Centers Serve Act. At the press conference, Congresswoman Tenny explained:
“The Let Pregnancy Centers Serve Act ensures pregnancy resource centers and pro-life centers are not discriminated against and are able to carry out their services, including providing emotional support, access to prenatal and pregnancy care, and supplies to expecting mothers. We must ensure women have access to the resources pregnancy centers provide, empowering them to choose life.”
Jo Ann Gerling, Chairman of Life Choices Resource Center in New Jersey, appreciated the legislation and commended it as necessary support to their work, “We are so grateful to Rep. Chris Smith and Rep. Claudia Tenney for the ‘Let Pregnancy Centers Serve Act.’ God bless you for acknowledging the life-affirming work of all Pregnancy Care Centers. Thank you for all your support in helping us be able to provide for needy mothers, babies, and families.”
Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee (CWALAC) has always fought to promote and protect the work of PRCs across the country as necessary building block to a culture of life. That’s why we are proud to support the Let Pregnancy Centers Serve Act. CWA grassroots leaders will always work to serve, support, and protect the life-saving work PRCs provide to their communities!